Tim ran through the Mega Marble as the
self-destruct alerts blared, telling him of the little bit of time he had left.

Tim thought to himself, "I'm not
going to make it this time."

He would have given a cheer of relief if
it were not atypical of him and if he had the time, but he did not. He pressed
a button and opened the last escape pod, entering it and having it start moving
toward down the tube that was the exit of the Mega Marble.

As Tim exited the Mega Marble and started
going down the path that Ralph had earlier taken, he began to decelerate. With
a light thumb he fell out of the building and onto the ground. He moved his
black, marble-shaped escape pod toward a thick grove of tree as an explosion
sounded behind him, indicting the destruction of the Mega-Marble.

As he exited the escape pod he looked at
the two others near him. The first, completely destroyed, him surmised to be
that of Dr. VonMarcus. The second, which was fortunately intact, he believed to
be that of Ralph.

He smiled and returned to the pod.
Preparing to make an exit as he so wished to, the display in front of him
suddenly changed into a picture of a man in a chain mail-like fabric of black
with a set of green-tinted glasses.

"Hello, Tim," said the man
calmly. "3,027840."

"Who are you?" asked Tim,
brushing his hand through his gray hair as he spoke, having noticed the number.

"I am known as Gamemaster
Jenkins." He smiled as he said this. "We've been watching you, Tim.
This, although a real situation, was not known to the public until just a few
minutes ago."

Tim gave the so-called Gamemaster a queer
look. "So you sent me a broadcast that didn't exist then to my
handheld?" he inquired, patting the small TV that was in his pocket.

"That would be incorrect, Tim."

"Hmm?"

"It existed but no longer does. Maybe
this will make sense to you in time."

"So. Why you interrupting my planned
crusin' of this nice little object that I found?"

"Nothing, Tim." He then smiled.
"Unless you wish to really have a challenge."

Tim's eyes perked and he removed his
sunglasses, leaning forward and smiling. "What kind of challenge."

"Fortunately, this incident will make
it seem as though you are dead, as there are no genetic records for you or Dr.
VonMarcus."

"Mm hmm. So?"

"So, Tim, when you are ready, proceed
to the point instructed on the map that you are now being sent. I hope to soon
welcome you to the League.

"Sounds like fun."

Tim got out of the pod again and looked at
Ralph's pod. He smiled as he walked slightly closer to the pod. "Someday,
Ralph, you could be just as good at video games as me. Remember that."

"He walked back to the trees and
climbed up high into one. Over the next half hour he watched police and medics
arrive. They found both the destroyed pod of VonMarcus and the whole pod of
Ralph as well.

Tim watched from high in the tree as a
policeman opened Ralph's pod.

Ralph shielded his eyes as the light
entered his escape pod. "Tim?" he asked.

"Sorry, kid, but no. There was
another vehicle like this one but it was destroyed and covered in blood."

"No!" screamed Ralph. "Tim
can't be dead! He just can't!"

"Kid," replied the policeman,
"it'll be okay. Come on, we better make sure that you're not hurt and then
you can tell me what happened in there."

As Ralph walked away with the policeman
Tim gave a slight smile. "Don't worry, I'm not dead... I just need to seem
to be right now."

With that said, Tim hopped into the black
marble-shaped escape pod and sped off toward the point where he had been
instructed to go.

As Tim closed onto the point, thoughts
went over him. "Gamemaster Jenkins, eh?" he said to himself.
"Sounds like I'm about to encounter one or a bunch of video-freaks."

Tim slowed down the marble and eventually
stopped it. Opening the cover and getting out, he noticed a woman a few feet
ahead of where he was that he hadn't noticed before.

"Greetings," replied the person.
"I am Gamemaster Karen."

"Karen. Not a very masculine name,
but then again you're not who sent for me."

Karen laughed softly at that. "Most
of us are. I mean: Why in particular?"

Tim spoke with a straight face,
seriousness being shown by him. "Because I'm the best."

Karen's eyes opened as she heard what Tim
had said. "That's more than a bit of an ego, Tim. I suggest you stop that
at once. It's frowned upon at the League."

Tim turned his head towards her and
removed his sunglasses. "I wasn't being egotistical."

Karen
shook her head. "Whatever."

"So, why you come and get me?"
asked Tim, putting his sunglasses back on.

"Two reasons. One: I am commonly sent
to get new recruits. Two: I am going to be your teacher."

Tim chucked. "Sounds like fun."

The door opened and Tim stepped into
Gamemaster Jenkins' office.

The man whom Tim had seen before turned
around and looked at the gray-haired individual before him. "So, you're
Tim?"

"You should know. You saw me before
while I was in the pod."

"Ah, that I did. That I did." He
sat down at his large black leather chair behind a desk of oak. "Dr.
VonMarcus was someone you knew. That's why we sent you after him through that
broadcast. We knew you liked games and challenges. That was a test to see if you were ready for a much bigger
challenge: this one."

Tim yawned. "Sure. Sounds like fun.
Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

Gamemaster Jenkins frowned. "Tim,
this is a serious matter. The League of Gamemasters is not known to the outside
world and it is not a group of gamers that play games. Incidents like that of
Dr. VonMarcus's Mega-Marble are not as uncommon as you may think. There are
also threats that are even worse that you are not aware of at all."

Tim nodded. "Continue."

"Tim, it would mean leaving everyone
you knew in the outside world behind, but I think you may be willing to do
this." Gamemaster Jenkins stood up and went over to a door. Opening it, he
motioned for Tim to follow. "Come on."

Tim
shrugged and followed the man.

Tim emerged into a room of gray. Inside it
there was very little besides himself and the man that he had followed.

Gamemaster Jenkins pressed a few buttons.
"Tim, prepare yourself."

Tim shrugged. "Kay."

"Ptooie!"

Tim spun around to see a fireball coming
toward him from what appeared to be a piranha plant. He ducked to the ground,
barely avoiding it. "What the heck is this?"

"SMB test simulation," said
Jenkins calmly.

"How fun!"

Tim jumped as a koopa troopa bit at his
leg. He jumped again and stomped on it, forcing it into its shell.

"Good." Jenkins smiled.

Tim threw the shell at the piranha plant,
hitting it dead on and causing both of the enemies to disappear.

"Excellent. Level one
completed."

Tim tapped the pipe that the piranha plant
had been in. "Let me guess."